Pri Eitz Chaim [mystical meditations for prayer, Sabbath and Holidays]

AUCTION 53 | Thursday, December 08th, 2011 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts Autograph Letters & Graphic Art

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Lot 227
VITAL, CHAIM.

Pri Eitz Chaim [mystical meditations for prayer, Sabbath and Holidays]

ff. (150, (1). Browned, trace wormed along margins, few leaves frayed. Modern elaborately tooled calf. Tall folio Vinograd, Dubrovno 6

Dubrovno: Baruch b. Eliahu 1804

Est: $800 - $1,200
RARE. The last of only six books that were published in this small town situated along the Dnieper River, today, Belarus. The dissemination of the Kabbalistic teachings of R. Isaac Luria (the AR”I Za”L), followed a convoluted route. The recension recorded by his disciple, R. Chaim Vital has the reputation of being the most authoritative. However, according to Scholem, this Dubrovno edition of Pri Eitz Chaim is based upon the recension of Meir Poppers. See EJ, Vol. XVI cols. 171-76 for Gershom Scholem’s masterful survey of the complex history of Vital’s literary output.